A Secret Past
by flameofdarkness0318
Summary: Marisa, Halt's apprentice, has a secret. When a mission brings it to light, will anyone be able to trust her again? Bad summary, sorry. My first fanfic, plz be nice. Rated T cuz I'm paranoid. Please R&R. I don't own Ranger's Apprentice.
1. Chapter 1

_I stood facing the two people sitting on the thrones in front of me. I was forced to listen to their accusations, though I knew they were false. I had no say in any of the proceedings. They would not even allow me a chance to say something on my own behalf. _

"_I have made my decision. The punishment for murdering the Crown Prince of Toscana is banishment. Marisa, you are hereby banished from all lands and holdings of the country of Toscana. You are not permitted to return under pain of death. I should have you executed for treason, but I am being benevolent. You have forty-eight hours to leave the borders of Toscana. Leave."_

"_Father, I-"_

"_No! You are no longer any daughter of mine! You have committed an act that I cannot forgive. You killed one of my sons, your brother. I can never forgive you for that. Now leave before I change my mind."_

_I stood defiantly for a moment. "I'm leaving, but not because you told me to. I am leaving because I can see that I am not wanted here. I was never wanted here. I knew it. I just didn't want to believe it. I wish you had just left me in Genovesa. You made me leave my brother alone, the one person in this world I actually cared about, and I abandoned him because of you. All I ever was to you was a tool at your disposal. I'm going but I want you to know one thing: I didn't kill him. Good bye, 'Father'."_

_I turned and walked out of the throne room, never to return again._

"Marisa, wake up! Breakfast is ready. If you don't get in here in two minutes, I'm going to eat yours!" The sound of my mentor's voice broke through my dreams.

"Wha…?" I glanced out the window and saw how bright it was outside. _Oh my god, Halt is going to kill me! _I bolted into a sitting position and threw off my blankets. I stood and headed for my closet, hitting my hip on the bedside table. Cursing, I managed to make it over to my closet without any further injury.

Pulling the door open, I quickly grabbed a green tunic and some dark brown trousers, and got dressed.

"Marisa!"

"Coming!" Bending down, I swiftly made my bed, then grabbed my cloak, bow and quiver. I yanked my bedroom door open and raced down the hall.

"I'm up," I said breathlessly as I slid into the kitchen, almost slamming right into Halt.

"About time. I was beginning to wonder if you would ever wake up. Hurry and eat your breakfast. We have to leave soon."

"Where are we going?" I asked curiously as I made my plate. Piling on some eggs, bacon and porridge, I took my plate to the table and sat down. I eyed the coffee pot for a moment before pouring a cup and adding a generous amount of honey.

"We've been summoned to Castle Araluen. The King has to talk to us about something."

"Really? What?"

He shook his head. "I'm honestly not sure," he admitted. "Finish eating, then pack a bag. I don't know how long we'll be gone, so pack as much as you can. Then go and saddle up Onyx."

I nodded. "Okay." I turned my attention to my breakfast and ate as quickly as I could.

When I finished, I set my plate on the counter, then turned around and headed back towards my bedroom. Pushing my door open, I stepped back into the room. Rushing over to the closet, again, I pulled the door open and began rummaging around inside. I pulled out some clothes and tossed them on my bed before reorganizing my closet as best I could. Satisfied, I turned my attention to the clothes that were strewn on top of my neatly made bed. Quickly, I folded them up and placed them inside my bag, followed by other important things, such as my hair brush.

That done, I buckled on my double scabbard, which I had forgotten to do in my earlier haste, and walked out the door, shutting it behind me.

Returning to the kitchen, I set my bag down on the counter, then headed out the back door to the stables.

I tugged hard on the stable door, straining to open the heavy door; the hinges needed to be oiled just a little bit more. Stepping inside, I peered into the stall of my horse, Onyx.

Onyx was a bit different than other Ranger horses. In a way, he was an experiment. He was bred from a battle horse and a Ranger horse, so he had the best qualities from each breed: the swiftness, stamina and intelligence of the Ranger horses paired with the build and muscle of battle horses. He was taller than regular Ranger horses and his black coat was sleek instead of shaggy.

He rolled his eyes toward me as I approached. _You should have been awake an hour ago. _

I stopped and stared at him. "Not you, too."

He shrugged. _I know when to be up. We were expecting you an hour ago. We're hungry. _

Abelard shook his head in agreement.

"Sorry, guys. We're going to have to hold off on your breakfast. We need to get to Castle Araluen."

Two sets of eyes glared at me reproachfully. _You did that on purpose. _

"I did no such thing," I protested.

_You did, too. _

I sighed and shook my head. I was never going to get the last word with these two.

_Never. _

"All right, fine. You can eat while I groom you guys." Crossing to the other end of the barn, I measured out their grain and poured it into their buckets before placing them in front of each respective horse. "Here you go."

Both of them rolled their eyes at me again before bending down to eat.

Stepping into Onyx's stall, I grabbed a curry comb and quickly gave him a rub down, then gave him a good brushing with the stiff brush.

_Ahhh, that feels really good. _

I then grabbed a hoof pick and cleaned out his hooves. Once I was done, I repeated the process with Abelard.

Stepping back, I gave them a once over with a critical eye and nodded in satisfaction. By that time, they had finished eating and I could tack them up without disturbing them.

I adjusted the saddle blanket before swinging the saddle up and over onto Onyx's back. Dropping the stirrup, I reached underneath his belly and grabbed the girth before pulling it tight. I made sure to leave a little bit of slack, as we wouldn't be leaving quite yet, and I saw no reason for him to be uncomfortable. Then I grabbed the bridle and slipped it over his ears, careful not to bend them the wrong way. I pushed the bit, gently, against his lips, he easily accepted it and I tightened the chin strap and led him out of the stable.

"Stay here," I ordered before I turned back to the stable to saddle up Abelard.

_I'm not going anywhere. _

I rolled my eyes as I entered Abelard's stall. "Hello, Abelard," I greeted him as I approached. I pulled his saddle off of the door of his stall and swung it onto his back. Again, I tightened the girth, not too much, bridled him and led him out of the stall.

Just as I led Abelard out of the stable, Halt appeared from the cabin, carrying several bags.

"Hey, Halt. I saddled Abelard for you," I told him as he approached.

He just grunted. "Here," he said, handing me a couple bags, including the one that I'd left on the counter.

"Thanks." I took the proffered bags and arranged them into my saddlebags. I suddenly remembered that I hadn't grabbed my quiver, bow or sword when I left the house. I headed back toward the cabin.

"Where are you going?" Halt's rough voice sounded behind me.

I turned to face him. "I have to get my bow and sword."

"Hurry up. We need to be leaving soon."

I nodded and scurried into the house. Emerging into the kitchen, I saw my longbow and sword leaning against the wall on the far side. I grabbed my sword, buckled it onto my belt, swung my quiver onto my back, picked up my bow and walked back out the door.

"Are we bringing Echo or Baron?"

"We'll bring Baron. Echo is too young to come."

"What're we going to do with him while we're gone?"

He sighed. "What do you think we're going to do? Let him loose in the woods? 'We'll be gone for who knows how long but we'll come back so make sure you don't get killed.'" He snorted. "We'll leave him at the castle. He'll be well taken care of there. He probably won't even know that we're gone."

Feeling a little foolish, I nodded then put two fingers to my lips and whistled, long, loud, and shrill. I saw Halt jump a little at the sudden sound. He turned to look at me peevishly.

"Warn me next time you're going to do that," he said.

"Sorry."

Two furry bodies appeared from the stable, running low to the ground.

Baron was mainly white with some black patches and padded slowly toward us. Echo was only half grown and still in his puppy stage, with his fluffy black fur and rambunctious attitude. He raced around us in circles, yipping in excitement.

"Echo! Calm down," I said. He stopped and looked up at me. "Sit," I ordered. He complied. "Good boy.' I patted him on the head before returning my attention to Onyx. I tightened the girth, making sure it didn't pinch his skin, then swung into the saddle. Clicking my tongue, I gestured to the saddlebags attached to the pommel and both dogs sprang into each one, settling down comfortably.

Crowley had decided that every Ranger should have a border shepherd after Will Treaty had adopted and trained one that he had found injured. When he left the dog, Shadow, in the care of a friend, he'd accepted a puppy from her litter, Ebony, and had trained her as he had trained her mother. The dog had saved his life on many occasions and had proved to be useful on many of his missions. After many successful missions, both with Shadow and her daughter, Crowley mandated that every Ranger should have one, and the breeding program began.

Trobar, the friend that Will had left Shadow with, was in charge of the breeding and care of the puppies. They had, of course, found other shepherds to breed, because having all those puppies would_ not _have been good for Shadow. There were times when Trobar had several litters by different mothers at the same time. Once the puppies were weaned from their mother's milk, the litter would be sent to Will, who would train them and teach them the same signals that he had taught Shadow, then the puppies would be given to the Rangers who had not yet received one.

Baron was Halt's dog and had been with him for about three years. Originally, Halt hadn't wanted a dog, but Crowley had insisted and Halt had finally gave in.

When I'd become Halt's apprentice, I had been given my own dog, Echo. While he was fully trained, he was only about seven months old and was too young and rowdy to come with us on missions, so he was often left behind at the Castle. Since we would have to go to the castle to tell the Baron that we were leaving, it wouldn't be hard to leave him in the care of the stable hands.

I waited for Halt to mount up on Abelard's back, then we turned toward the castle. We both nudged our horses with our knees and they increased their paces until we were galloping in the direction of the castle.

About ten minutes later, the battlements of Castle Redmont became visible. We raced down the hill, clattering on the cobbled streets of the village, before we reached the gate. The gatekeepers, recognizing us as the King's Rangers for Redmont Fief, opened the gate, allowing us to pass through.

We slid to a halt in the courtyard of Castle Redmont and dismounted.

"I will go bring Echo to the stables. Meet you in the Baron's office?" I asked.

Halt nodded.

"Okay. I'll only be a minute. Come on, Echo." Echo jumped out of the saddle bag that he was in and followed me obediently as I headed for the stables.

After leaving him in the more-than-capable hands of the stable hands, I headed for the Baron's office.

When I reached the door to his office, I knocked.

"Come in," a voice called.

Pushing the door open, I stepped into the room and immediately spotted my mentor.

"Ah, Marisa, there you are," Halt said. "I was just finishing up telling the Baron that we have to leave. Is Echo settled in the stable?"

"Yes, he was quite happy. Didn't even try to follow me when I left." I reported.

He nodded. "Good." He turned to Baron Arald. "Now, my lord, if I have your leave?"

"Yes, Halt, go on and good luck. You too, Marisa."

"Thank you, my lord."

Halt turned and led the way out of the room. We descended the stairs and soon found ourselves back in the courtyard. We mounted up on our horses' backs and wheeled toward the gate.

Once we were out of the castle grounds, we quickly weaved our way through the village until we were on the main road. Halt turned Abelard's head to the northeast, toward Castle Araluen, then kicked him gently. I did the same on Onyx.

Our journey to Castle Araluen, and beyond, had begun.


	2. Chapter 2

**Reviews make me happy! I forgot to say in the last chapter: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice. I don't own anything you recognize. However, Marisa and all the characters/animals that you don't recognize do belong to me, so no stealing. As I'm sure you noticed, this is a slight AU because every Ranger carries a sword and they all have border collies (I love border collies. They're so cute and they're really smart too!). I am open for suggestions on the names because I am not entirely sure that I like them. Onyx is entirely black, Echo is also black (you can tell I like black animals can't you?) and Baron is black and white. Just PM me if you have any suggestions. Thanks! Now, on with the story. **

It took us five days to travel from Castle Redmont to Castle Araluen. We met Gilan on the way, as he had also been summoned by Crowley.

Once we arrived, we settled our horses in the stables and then rested for the remainder of the day. The next morning, we were summoned to King Duncan's office for a meeting.

Halt approached the thick oak door and knocked lightly.

"Come in," a voice called, and we both entered the room.

With the number of people present, even the King's spacious office looked crowded. Along with the major figures of Araluen, including Crowley, Horace, Will and Alyss, there were several familiar faces from our foreign allies, such as Selethen, Svengal, Erak, Gundar Hardstriker, and even the Emperor of Nihon-Ja, Shigeru. My bewilderment grew; why were all these people here?

"Ah, Halt. You're here. We can start."

"What's going on, your majesty? Why are there so many people here?" Halt _really _did not like not knowing what was going on.

"We have a situation in Toscana. We need you and Marisa to investigate."

Under my cowl, my face drained entirely of color. Toscana? I couldn't go to Toscana! I would be killed if I set one foot on Toscan soil.

"Toscana, your majesty? What situation?" Halt asked.

"The king thinks that someone is trying to take the throne from him. He requested our help. I want you, Gilan, Will and Marisa to go to Toscana and try to figure out what is going on. Crowley agrees with me."

Both of Halt's eyebrow shot up, a rare expression seen on him. "Four Rangers? Isn't that a bit much?"

"No, because every person in this room is going, except for myself. You're going to need all the help you can get. Keeping this many people safe is going to be a challenge. Be very careful, because you may have to go to Genovesa. We have no way of knowing what will happen. You'll leave as soon as possible."

"Your majesty?" I spoke tentatively. "Do you really need me to go as well? Four- well three- Rangers does seem like overkill, don't you think?"

"Don't underestimate yourself, Marisa. You are as vital to the success of this mission than anyone else."

"O-okay. If you think I should go as well, then I will."

He nodded. "Good." He turned to the others.

"Come back to my office tomorrow morning and we'll discuss the plans for the trip. Everyone clear?"

Several heads nodded.

"All right. You are dismissed. Get some rest and I'll see you in the morning."

Halt turned toward the western wing of the castle. I hurried to catch up to my mentor as he led the way down the hall.

He came to a stop outside the oak door of the room that we shared. Pushing the door open, he led the way inside. The room was sparsely furnished with two beds, a small table with two chairs, and an oil lamp.

He sat on the edge of the bed closest to the door and pulled off his boots. He sighed and laid back on the pillows.

I watched him for a moment before moving to the vacant bed on the other side of the room. Collapsing onto the bed, I began to pull my boots off as well. "I don't know about you," I said around a yawn, "but I'm hungry."

He twisted around to look at me. "I didn't understand a single word you just said."

I waited a moment for the yawn to subside. "I said," careful to clearly enunciate my words, "I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."

"Ah," he said, nodding. "Yes, I'm hungry, too."

"Hmm, we should go down to the kitchen to get something," I murmured, my eyes closed.

I felt his gaze on me. Opening my eyes, I turned to look at him. "What?"

"Why on earth would we do that when we can just have someone bring it to us?"

"Hmph, you're the one that taught me that we always do stuff ourselves."

"Then why don't you go down and get something for us?"

"Ha! Nice try, Halt, but that won't work. I'll go down and get something for myself; if you want something, then you're going to have to get it."

"Is that any way to treat your mentor?"

"It is for the mentor who refused any of my help when I offered it before. Why do you think I don't ask anymore?"

He was quiet.

Sighing, I heaved myself upward into a sitting position. "Well, I'm going down to get something." Leaning over, I pulled my boots back on, then stood up. Pausing at the door, I looked back. "You coming?"

He was already on his feet.

I led the way down the hall to the staircase at the end. Treading carefully, I started to descend the stairs, my mentor right behind me.

Once on the first floor, I looked around, trying to gauge where the kitchen would be. After a moment's hesitation, I turned left and headed down the hallway.

It wasn't long before I heard noises and the delicious smell of roasting beef wafted down the hallway. My mouth watered and my hunger grew.

We reached the end of the hallway. A large wooden door stood slightly ajar and I could see people moving around in the kitchen. I knocked twice before pushing the door open.

Horace was sitting at one end of the long table, a plate piled high with food in front of him. He grinned. "Hey, guys."

Halt rolled his eyes. "Why am I not surprised you're here?"

The chef, whose name I didn't know, spoke up. "Are you two hungry?"

"Starving," I said.

He laid two empty plates on the table beside Horace and promptly began putting food onto them. We both sat down and dug in.

The salad, which had been drizzled with a tangy vinaigrette, was delicious. The beef was perfectly roasted and juicy. Crusty bread was used to mop up the savory juices from the beef. Fresh fruit was the dessert and we finished with steaming cups of hot coffee.

I sighed contentedly and leaned back in my chair. "I could get used to castle life."

Halt looked at me closely before replying: "No, you couldn't. You'd be wandering around the castle, fidgeting, unable to sit still. You would go crazy and, in turn, drive everyone else crazy."

I thought about that, nodding my head. "You're probably right. I enjoy doing stuff for a living. I wouldn't be able to stand not doing anything. And I love Onyx and being outside too much."

"Yep." He sighed. "Well, we've eaten. We'd better get upstairs and go to bed. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Yeah… I guess so."

Halt thanked the chef for the meal and walked out the door. As we trudged down the hallway, my mind wandered to all the bad things that could happen on this trip.

'You know, Halt, I've been thinking." I paused and he looked back at me, raising one eyebrow.

"Always a dangerous pastime," he replied.

"Ha, very funny. But this business with having to go to Toscana worries me. Why would the king ask us for help? We don't have an active treaty with them right now; it needs to be renewed. Don't you find it a little strange?"

"Not really, Like you said, we did have a treaty with them. Maybe they figured they could kill two birds with one stone by requesting our help. The treaty could be renewed and they could get this usurper removed at the same time. Don't worry about it."

"I know, it's just that… I have a really bad feeling about this trip. Something's going to go horribly wrong. I can feel it."

"Marisa, don't worry too much. Everything will be fine. Now, come on. We have to get some rest."

I shuffled along behind him, still worrying over the feeling in my gut telling me something was going to happen.

Later, back in our room, I laid back on my bed, my head on my pillow, my eyes closed as I tried to sleep. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get to sleep. My mind was all over the place, trying to work through the problem. Finally, though I thought I'd never get to sleep, I drifted into oblivion.

The next day, the castle was bursting with activities. People were making last minute arrangements for the trip. Things were being packed, food was being prepared and horses were being saddled up by stable hands.

Halt and I were on our way to the King's office again to meet with him before we left. I trailed after my mentor as we headed for King Duncan's office.

"I'm sorry, Halt, but something does not feel right. I'm telling you, going on this trip is a bad idea. Someone's going to get hurt. I can feel it."

He let out a breath through gritted teeth. "Marisa, everything's going to be fine. Stop worrying so much! For heaven's sake!" He turned away, mumbling under his breath.

I followed, being persistent. "Halt, come on, please! Listen to me. You told me to trust my instincts before and I am. They're saying that this trip is dangerous and a bad idea."

"Well, it's too late now. We already told the King that we're going."

I looked at him sharply; he and I both knew it was a thin excuse.

"What are you two arguing about now?" A new voice broke the tension between us. I glance back and saw Gilan standing a few feet behind us.

"Hmph, Halt's being an idiot."

"Marisa's being a worrywart."

"I am not!"

"The fact that you just denied it the way you did shows that you are."

"Oh, for god's sake, stop it!" Another voice spoke. Crowley. "If you guys are going to succeed on this mission, then you need to get along."

"Hmph, try telling that to him," I muttered under my breath.

Crowley looked at me. "Marisa, treat Halt with respect. He's your mentor after all."

"I will when he stops treating me like a harebrained idiot."

"I treat you like a harebrained idiot because you _act _like a harebrained idiot!"

My anger flared up. "I'm not stupid, you know! I can take care of myself!"

"Oh yeah? Then act like it!"

I opened my mouth, ready with a sharp retort, but he turned away before I had the chance to speak.

By that time we had reached the door to Duncan's office.

"All right," Duncan said. "I forgot to explain why there are so many people going. They are going as a disguise; they're your cover. You'll be a member of a diplomatic delegation, which won't bring about so much suspicion. You go to Toscana, find the person who is supposedly trying to take the throne and come home safe. You won't be challenged with so many people from other countries."

Halt nodded his head in agreement. "It makes sense. Don't worry, your majesty. We'll keep everyone safe," he said with a meaningful look at me. I just glared at him.

Duncan nodded, oblivious to the tension between mentor and apprentice. "Good. I trust you, Halt. Keep them safe."

With our last farewells, we left his office and headed down to the gates of the castle.

I was still glaring daggers at my mentor when we reached the gate of Castle Araluen. I approached him again, trying to reason with him.

"Halt, this isn't a good idea. Will you at least hear me out?"

"Marisa, there is nothing to worry about. Just stop arguing with me."

"Are you guys still going at it? Geez." That was Gilan again.

Will, who was watching from a few feet away shook his head and turned to Tug. "This is going to be a long trip," he said. Tug nodded his head vigorously in agreement.

I muttered under my breath then turned away, looking ahead of us. The long, winding road that led from the castle deeper into the woods stretched out before us. I shifted impatiently from foot to foot, nearly bouncing on my feet.

Crowley had come to the gates to wish us luck.

"Be careful, Halt. Come home safe." Crowley wished him, and the rest of us, farewell before returning to the castle.

Pauline stepped forward to take Crowley's place, pulling her husband into a hug and giving him a quick peck on the lips.

"Promise me that you'll be careful," she whispered in his ear.

"I promise."

Pauline released him and turned to Will. "Watch over him, Will. He's not as young as he used to be." She embraced him warmly. "You need to be careful as well and keep the others safe."

"I will, my lady. I promise."

The farewells were done, and it was time for us to leave. We all mounted our horses, the dogs sprang into their respective saddlebags and we left.

We were on our way to Toscana and my unknown fate.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry, I haven't updated in a while. I've been very busy, plus I'm now writing another story for Naruto. If you like Naruto, check it out. It's called Revelations. Anyway, I'll try to update as much as possible, but I need to have some plot bunnies attack me first. If you have any ideas, PM me or review. I try to add a little to each story a day. For the past like, four days, I was focused on starting my Naruto story and just finished the prologue for it. It's now posted and I can continue the RA fic now. All right, enough of my rambling, onto the story!**

It took us a week to get from Castle Araluen to the coastline where the Skandian duty ships waited to take us to Toscana. With such a large party, it took us about a half hour to get fully mobilized and this process had to be repeated every time we stopped. Those of us that had been on hard campaigns before were used to riding for long periods of time without rest, but there were some who were not used to it, and they had to have frequent breaks. We also had to consider the fact that we had some people that were traveling on foot: the Skandians.

The Skandians were a race of strong, very largely built men who lived in the harsh conditions of the north. They traveled on ships and raided coastlines of unsuspecting countries without warning. They were, for want of a better word, pirates.

They also despised using horses for transportation. Of course, their bulky builds and their heavy weights contributed to the dislike of riding horses, as it was hard for them to stay on the horse's back. The only way they wanted to travel was on foot, and the only way to keep up with us was to travel at the Skandians' forced march pace. It was an effective way of keeping up with us, but even they got tired, and, eventually, we had to stop.

I gently pulled on Onyx's reins as Halt came to a stop by a copse of trees and turned to the others.

"We'll stop here for the night. Pitch the tents and start some fires. Will, why don't you go see if you can find some meat that we can cook. If we're nice, maybe Marisa will whip up some half decent food to eat."

I rolled my eyes at my mentor's joke; I was an excellent cook, and he and I both knew it.

"It's not looking good, Halt. You're not being very nice right now." I retorted as I swung off of Onyx's back. Walking a few steps further into the trees, I removed my tent from the packsaddle. Baron jumped out of the saddlebag and trotted over to join the other dogs. I quickly pitched my tent then set about preparing the vegetables for dinner.

I was slicing the last of the onions when Will appeared on Tug's back, pulling the body of a deer behind him. Setting down my knife, I stood up to examine the meat I was supposed to use. I looked over it with a critical eye and nodded approvingly.

"Good job, Will. This will provide plenty of meat for dinner and we can cook the rest to bring with us. Just bring it over here." He led Tug over to where I was sitting by the fire and cut the rope that bound the carcass to him.

Settling down again, I picked up my knife and resumed cutting the onions. When I was finished, I set about skinning and jointing the deer, separating the edible meat from the inedible parts.

Setting a pot over one of the larger cooking fires, I drizzled in a small amount of oil before adding the onions. They sizzled upon hitting the bottom of the pot. I gave them a quick stir before I began cutting some potatoes into chunks and dropping them inside the pot as well. I added a generous amount of water and my own mix of herbs and mixed it up. Glancing up, I saw that the others were grouped around the fire, watching me intently. I sighed.

"Guys, I just started it. It's gonna take a while. I'll let you know when it's done. Leave me alone, please."

They scattered, creating smaller groups as they began to talk amongst themselves. I finished adding the rest of the ingredients and gave the stew one last stir before I stood up and joined Gilan, Will, and Halt around one of the smaller fires.

Thirty minutes later, I scooped out generous serving into the bowls of my hungry companions. After serving everyone, including some broth for the dogs, I ladled some into my own bowl and picked up my spoon.

"This is excellent, Marisa!" Horace exclaimed, his mouth full of the venison stew.

I just rolled my eyes. Setting down my bowl, I reached into the coals and pulled out several loaves of freshly baked bread. Dusting the soot off, I began to break them into pieces before passing them around, then continued eating my dinner.

When everyone was finished (there were no leftovers), we started to clean up. Will and Gilan took the pots to a nearby river and washed them out. Each person washed their own utensils.

We all gathered together, and Will brought out his mandola. We sat with our ever present cups of coffee, talking, laughing and listening to Will play. After an hour of socializing, we turned in for the night.

The next morning, we woke early and ate a quick breakfast, before mounting up. We continued our pace, wanting to get to the shores of Araluen by nightfall. We would still have to stop, but we wouldn't have to stop for very long.

The rest of the trip toward the coast was uneventful. We reached the shores with an hour before dark. Not wanting to try and set sail while unable to see anything, we decided to wait until morning before actually leaving. There was no gathering around the fire tonight; everyone was exhausted and just wanted to sleep.

I woke up about two hours before dawn. A quick glance showed that everyone was still sleeping. Figuring that they'd enjoy a nice breakfast before heading out to open sea, I climbed out of the tent and set about preparing a nice hot breakfast consisting of bacon, some porridge and some fresh baked bread. I also set a large pot of water into the coals for some coffee.

Twenty minutes later, breakfast was ready and the rest of the camp was starting to stir.

I glanced up as heads appeared from inside tents, drawn out by the smell of food. "Morning, guys," I greeted. "Breakfast is ready."

In less than a minute, I was surrounded by my famished friends, each one vying for who got served first. Finally, everyone calmed down and I was able to serve them. "Wow, Halt. No wonder you like her so much. You eat really well," Gilan stated as he took a bite of crispy bacon (**and now I want bacon… darn it**).

Halt just grunted agreement as he took a sip of his coffee. He hadn't accepted any food, as I knew he wouldn't. He always got seasick and there was really no point in him eating, as he would just throw it up later. He just contented himself with a cup of coffee.

After everyone else had eaten, we broke camp for the last time. The docks where the ships were moored were only about one hundred feet in front of us. We rode down to the docks, and began the long, arduous process of loading everything, including the horses, onto the ship.

About two hours later, we were finished loading everything and it was time for us to go. With our large party, one ship wouldn't have been large enough. Consequently, we recruited two other ships. The main ship, with Cassandra and her entourage, had Erak as the captain. The other ship had Gundar as the captain, with his old crew. The third ship carried all the supplies, including the horses. We would have to make stops to allow the horses to get some exercise. The dogs remained on the ship with us.

"Erak, we're ready. Let's make sail," Halt told him.

Erak nodded in agreement and called to the others. "Get ready and prepare to set sail," he bellowed. The crews from all three ships scrambled to obey his orders; he was Oberjarl after all, and they didn't want to anger him.

After making some minor adjustments to the sails and confirming our course, we pushed off and set out across the sea. Our journey to Toscana had officially begun.

**So, they finally set sail. What's going to happen once they get to Toscana? What is Marisa hiding from her friends? Sorry I haven't updated in a while. The next chapter will probably be shorter than the rest, but I can't be sure. They'll arrive in Toscana in the next chapter and Marisa meets some people from her past. I'll try to update as soon as I can. School keeps me busy. REVIEW! I need something to feed the plot bunnies, otherwise they'll eat me. I can't write from inside a bunny's stomach; too dark. Anyway, if you review, you get cookies! (Well, cyber cookies, anyway…) Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


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